Leadership Development — YOU have a Job to Do

part 3

Leadership Development — YOU have a Job to Do

This is the final segment in a three part series that explores leadership development in the fire service. In the first post we learned current leaders in the fire service are concerned about the future leadership in the fire service. We examined leadership according to the experts and looked at some of the countless definitions available on leadership. We glanced into the characteristics, qualities, and traits various experts in the field believe are necessary to be a leader.

Although we were unable to nail down an exact definition of leadership, in the second segment of the series we continued our journey and explored the leadership industry and some available options to address the “leadership vacuum” within the fire service.

This final rant is not meant to be academic; it is simply that, a personal rant about my perception of a simple and often overlooked and under appreciated aspect of leadership development. It is based on my observations of some great leaders that I have followed into battle throughout my career in the fire service and Oklahoma Army National Guard and the impact their actions had on me.

But, this rant is really about YOU — more specifically, it is about your influence. If you believe for one second that the current leaders in your organization were not influenced and molded by those they worked around early in their careers you are ignoring reality. YOU have the ability to influence the future generation of fire service leaders.

Where will the next leader come from?

Surprise — the future Fire Chief of your department and future leaders of fire service organizations are on the back of your fire truck. Our future leaders are those new kids occupying the back seat on your fire truck. You know, the kid who just last week was trying to successfully navigate the training evolutions at the fire academy. Guess what, he or she is the future of the fire service — and potentially your next boss. He or she is primed to soak up experience and learn from you — YOU have a job to do.

Unless you believe he or she can learn the skills needed to lead the fire service from the latest leadership book on New York Times bestseller list — YOU have a job to do.

If you believe the answer lies in a magical leadership-training course or conference that promises a set of guidelines to make effective leaders you might want to consider Barbara Kellerman’s book entitled “The End of Leadership” highlighting the gap between leadership education and the practice of leadership. Unless you believe Kellerman is dead wrong and you trust that our future leaders can learn what they need to know from a leadership seminar — YOU have a job to do.

Grow Your Own Boss

There are many parallels between the fire service and the military. Growing our own leaders is one of those parallels. Like the military, the fire service typically promotes leaders from within our own organizations.

The U.S. Army realizes that they will continuously require new First Sergeants, Sergeant Majors, and Battalion Commanders to replace those lost through attrition. They do not recruit and hire a Command Sergeant Major from Wal-Mart or Google. There is not a Masters degree program that takes aspiring leaders from the ground zero ranks and graduates shinny new Command Sergeant Majors ready to lead troops into battle. The U.S. Army recognizes that leadership development takes time, energy, focus, and commitment. Thus, the Army has learned to develop and mature future leaders from the first day of basic training. Leadership development in the Army is as much culture as it is a process — it is everyone’s job.

It is time we recognize where our leaders come from and realize that — YOU have a job to do.

It is time we recognize that leadership is not necessarily a milestone destination but instead part of everyday actions we all can affect — YOU have a job to do.

It is time we recognize that leadership is not about one’s rank or position, but instead about behavior, attitudes and influence — YOU have a job to do.